SYNPOSIS: Lack of knowledge becomes civilizations undoing! I feel that our film is thought provoking and eye opening to a dark and very possible future for our country.

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Step inside one of the Top 20 films in this year's Louisiana Film Prize. Oct. 1-4.
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ABOUT THE DIRECTOR: Jevon Miller started at a young age watching television aspiring to be follow in the footsteps of his favorite action stars like George Reeves, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Lee. In 2008 Jevon booked his first role in Tekken (2008). That year he book the role in the independent short film You Better Run which in 2010 earned him his best supporting actor award in the San Diego Black Film Festival. He went on to play in a Syfy channel film Mandrake and the action packed film “Dragon Eyes” starring Jean Claude Van Damme.Three years ago he stepped behind and in front of the camera with two short films - “Burdens” and “Turning Point.” This year he wishes to touch as many as possible with his new short film “Freedom of Knowledge.”

Jevon Miller(Photo: Submitted)

What sparked your creativity to make it?
My friends and I use to joke about how reading isn't cool to do among young people anymore and how we better not hear about any of us reading. That joke turned into a comedy skit we taped and put on YouTube and then I took the idea and turned it into this deep story about the downfall of civilization.

What do you hope audiences to take away from your film?

I hope that the audience take away from our film is how important education and the search for knowledge is for today's society so we can have a brighter future. Many cultures have fallen to war and famine do to lack of attention to education and knowledge by torn governments. If we don't pay attention, it can happen to our own culture here in the U.S. as well.

Where in Shreveport-Bossier did you shoot and why did you select that/those locations?

We shot in a friend's warehouse and studio on Texas Street and in a lot of the abandoned areas in downtown Shreveport because those locations gave our film the gritty look we were looking for. My favorite location was the empty lot at 516 Texas St. It has this fantastic picture of the American Flag and the Statue of Liberty crying panted on the wall. That 100 percent symbolizes where we were going with our film.

What was the most exciting day on set? Why?

The most exciting day of shooting had to be day one at the 516 Texas St.

As we got all our actors into makeup and we're waiting for the sun to reach the right peak on location, we all started to notice something flying around us. Next thing we know our cast and crew was caught up in the middle of a swarm of bees! This carried on for about 10 to 15 minutes and then the bees settle back to their hive. No one was stung nor harmed, so we proceeded shooting with our biggest day of filming.

I’ve heard independent film is a tough business. Is the Louisiana Film Prize a good resource for an independent filmmaker? If so, why?

The Louisiana Film Prize is a excellent resource for independent filmmakers because not only does it give a filmmaker a chance to win money that could possibly help fund their next project, but it also gives them a platform where they can gain exposure. Also what the Louisiana Film Prize does is give first time filmmakers a chance to hone in on their crafts so they can grow into better filmmakers. It took me three years and three films to finally make a film that was good enough to crack the Top 20. With each passing year I learned more and more until I finally got the right recipe I needed.